This invention relates to exercise machines, specifically to a bench press apparatus with a built in hoist and safety switch to lift the accompanying barbell weights up and away from the fitness user.
Typical bench press apparatus' include a horizontal bench portion adjacent to a pair of vertical bars with notches to hold the barbell weights in between exercise use. These machines, however, do not adequately provide a relief mechanism to permit a user who is in a generally supine position, to elevate the barbell weights.
These other exercise machines have been sold commercially which are designed to hold the barbell weights above the user when the user is finished exercising by lifting the barbell weights. Such exercise is commonly known as bench press exercising. When a strenuous lifting activity such as bench press exercising is undertaken, the exercise user often gets tired and weak after exertion. However, the cycle of lifting barbell weights starts with the weight adjacent to the chest of the exercise user, whereafter the barbell weight is lifted upward and then released slowly downward to the chest of the user. The typical barbell device contains vertical bars with notches or shelves to hold the barbell weights up at a level consistent with the fully extended arms of the user. These machines do not, however, provide any means for the simultaneous removal of the exercise barbell weights away from the chest area of the user when confined by the weight of the barbell above the chest. The instant invention combines desirable features in a single unit to permit the mechanical elevation of the barbell weight away from the user, without the necessity of the user lifting the weight from the user's body with an additional expenditure of energy. A knee activated safety switch is provided, to instantly activate the lifting of weight away from the user, when the user is too tired or exhausted to manually lift the barbell weights upward away from the body.